# The Right to Earn a Living **URL:** **By** Timothy Sandefur, Aaron Ross Powell, Trevor Burrus **Published:** January 5, 2015 --- Timothy Sandefur joins us for a discussion on economic liberty. Is there a right to earn a living? How is this right being violated today? This week we invite Timothy Sandefur to talk about the right to earn a living. Is this right to economic activity one that is upheld by the Constitution? Where did this right come from? How is the right to earn a living being violated in the United States today, and what does the legal environment surrounding this right look like? **Show Notes and Further Reading** Timothy Sandefur, [_The Right to Earn a Living: Economic Freedom and the Law_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Right-Earn-Living-Economic/dp/1935308335) (book) Frederick Douglass, [_Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass_](http://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Frederick-Douglass-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486284999) (book) "[Slaughter-House Cases](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter-House_Cases)" (Wikipedia article) "[Lochner v. New York](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochner_v._New_York)" (Wikipedia article)